Campfires
by WannabeWerewolf
Summary: After another unsuccessful attempt during one of their missions, Musashi breaks down with another failure. However, one other person is always there to help her, if Musashi is ready to let him. MusashiKojirou fic. JesseJames


Face it, Team Rocket is human, and we all have our frustrations and downfalls. This is a Musashi/Kojirou fic. (Jesse/James) Nyasu pops up in here too. Its sadangstyfluff, if you can call it that o.o. It would be awesome if you can drop a line with your opinions/flames via the comment box. This is my first Pokemon fic, and I would love to improve it by any means possible. Thank you On with the fluff!

Campfires

Setback after setback would be disheartning to any person. However, bad luck was assumed on the parts of Musashi and Kojirou. Dissapointment had shaped them, until feelings outside their mission were put aside, for lack of importance. It had been a while since the pair and their companion could relax without chasing an impossible task, simply put.

Once again, the young adults found themselves in a dense, wooded area. Their means of transportation, their hot air balloon, was deflated, slung over a high tree branch. Musashi had tumbled out of the basket when the balloon collided with the tree. She lay on the forest floor, clutching her head in silent pain. Her head had hit a large rock and the rest of her had falled into a thorny bush, putting the young woman in a painful and awkward situation. She let out a low moan, and rolled over to the rocky and leafy ground, a hand to her aching head.

Nyasu, the pair's companion, emerged from a bush on the opposite side, sporting a large nasty scratch, and a grimace of pain. He saw the bright haired woman curled on the floor, holding her head.

Nyasu cocked his head. What an usual position. Surely Musashi couldn't be hurt that bad.

The Pokemon swagerred over to the woman, and planted his paws on his hips, looking down at her.

Musashi seemed not to have noticed him, but the young woman shook slightly. "Where's Kojirou?" she asked quietly.

Nyarth put a paw to his chin, and turned his head, surveying his surroundings. "May still be back there, I'll go look, I guess" The cat put a paw on the woman's shoulder as a sign of reassurance and walked off, back into the brush.

Musashi sighed wearily, and rolled on her back, a hand still cradling her aching head. Usually she would have gotten up from a fall, to work on getting the stranded balloon from the tree. However, this dissapointment had lingered with her. She had lost count of how many times she had faced failure.

Slight shame with her brooding caused Musashi to sit up from the ground.

Musashi felt dusk approaching as the sky turned a dusky purple, through the canopy of leaves. A hand still on her head, Musashi picked up nearby branches and cleared a spot on the forest floor, to stack them. As the woman lit leaves within the wood to catch, a rustle came from the clump of bushes behind her. Musashi barely took notice as she watched the wood slowly catch fire, until a hand pulled her red hair from her face. A voice in her ear murmured "Ah...Musashi, your hair is about to catch fire"

The young woman's heart leapt as she turned quickly to look into Kojirou's friendly green eyes. Musashi relaxed, relief swamping her body.

"Kojirou! Did Nyarth find you?" she asked wearily.

Kojirou shook his head and sat down beside her, stretching out his legs toward the feeble fire. His scuffed boots and dirty uniform had shown that Kojirou did not take a good plunge himself, if his clothes were mussed.

"Heard the noise and saw you" he smiled cheerfully, leaning on his elbows.

Musashi sighed and poked the fire. "Nyasu is still looking for you then. I should go bring him back" Musashi made to lurch up, but Kojirou lifted a hand to her shoulder, forcing her to sit back down.

"Ah, don't worry! You'd get lost, he can see in the dark more efficiantly than you can" Kojirou told her.

Musashi sighed, shrugged off his hand, and returned to the fire. The knot of dissapointment in her stomach still lingered, blocking out the relief of seeing Kojirou. The young woman turned and concentrated on the dancing flames instead of her current situation. The situation she found herself in time and time again. Lost, in some random forst, empty handed, bruised, cold, and having to report back to the Boss the next day.

How worthless this all was. This streak of bad luck was pressing down on her like a menacing storm cloud. A break. That is all what she needed. No wild goose chases, no dissapointments, no injuries, or all nighters repairing a ridiculous machine for a mission. The thought of this all almost made Musashi cover her eyes in shame as they began to well up. How could she lose her composure?

The woman pushed hair from her bruising face, watching the fire cloud over from held back tears. She balled her hands into fists in shame, at this weakness.

Kojirou turned his head from the fire, hearing Musashi rustle. The sight made his eyes widen in disbelief. Musashi, his headstrong, ambitious friend and partner held her head up to the inky sky, violet eyes glassy with tears. Her usual determined face was red, bruised, and swollen. Shame and sorrow etched these features as Musashi fought to gain composure, her balled fists shaking slightly. The woman's red hair was tangled, falling over her face as if outwardly representing her emotions.

Kojirou watched his friend, stunned. His own mussed hair falling over his cut face as he stared at his comrade in sorrow and disbelief.

In a moment, he held the woman around her shoulders, protectively, half expecting the young woman to jerk away.

She did try, lifting her head from his shoulder in shame, and indignation, trying to wipe her blurring eyes before he could see them spill over.

Kojirou shook his head in a silent comman and held her head in a hand to his shoulder, soothingly running his fingers through her hair. His other arm held her close to him, preventing her to jerk away.

"Let go of me" she demanded in a choked whisper against his shoulder. Kojirou shook his head. "I'm dissapointed too" he told her sadly. "It's beem a long time since we had a successful mission. We'll get Pikachu next time, right Musa? You say that, one day we will"

"We won't" Musashi whispered. "We never do, we are just a bunch of failures. Jokes" The woman blinked rapidly, her hands pushing up to lever herself off Kojirou.

Kojirou grasped her hands, holding them close to his chest, still firmly holding the trembling young woman next to him protectively.

"I know" he murmured. "One day we will be lucky. Then all of this won't matter. You're not a joke. It's okay Musa...we aren't on case for the team, we dont have to report to the Boss right now...don't worry..." he whispered kindly in his ear.

Mistaking this for pity, Musashi struggled to break free again. "Easy for you, Kojirou, you seem so unphased" she choked angrily.

Kojirou shook his head, his hair brushing against her forehead. "I don't like this...but you've always said 'Next time' and you are right. I don't like the Boss yelling at us, or other Rocket members laughing when I walk past them, or falling from a tree and having to spend nights in the woods with no supplies..." Kojirou whispered sadly, clutching her shoulders tighter with his confession. "I'd whine, and complain alot more than usual but things will turn out right, you said, and I'll believe you!" Kojirou clutch her hands with these words reassuringly.

Seeing his friend like this was enough to kerk the young man out of his boyish, clouded state. No matter how naive and dreamy he was, Musashi was the closest family he had. After all, his parents never had to share all the dissapointments, failures, fear and hardship he suffured with Musashi. This loyalty was closer, personal. With such companionship, Kojirou had fed off her emotions, and that meant her frustration was his own.

"Let's relax tonight" he said, regaining his cheer. "No job, no Team, we have a fire, away from anything that can happen. I could use a mirror though" he added as a vain afterthought.

Musashi shook her head, trying to pull her hands away from his firm grasp. "We are just going to screw up again, it's useless. I hate this! I'm just so tired of this. I don't want to lose, fail, mess up, crash, I want to--"

She broke off angrily, as the held back tears spilled over. Despite screams of the stoic composure she must retain, Musashi brought her knees to chest, shaking with overdue sobs.

Kojirou released her hands, and embraced the crying young woman completely, her head on his shoulder, tears falling onto Kojirou's neck and shoulder.

Kojirou closed his own tearing eyes, and held her tightly, running a hand through her red hair tenderly. Musashi gave a hiss, and a sharp sob as he ran his hand over the bruised bump she obtained from her tumble.

The young man cooed a soft apology, running a hand down her back, a tear running down his own scraped cheek.

Musashi timidly, almost reluctantly, wrapped her arms around him, her swollen, weary, and tear streaked face to his neck. "As much as I don't mention, you've been the only constant thing for a long time Kojirou" Musashi choked against his neck. "You are the only person who could-" Musashi broke off, clutching Kojirou in a silent apology for her thoughts. The young woman's ego wailed within her, to gain a grip and composure.

Musashi bit a lip, and stifled another sob as shame washed over her like a dousing of ice water.

Kojirou touched her chin, lifting her tear streaked face to meet his eyes. Kojirou blinked and a hot tear slowly trailed down his face as he looked into her glassy, sorrow-filled eyes. The man lifted a strand of hair pasted to her cheek, carefully combing it back, avoiding her bruise. The young man lifted a thumb, wiping a tear from the corners of her eyes.

Musashi closed her eyes, embarassment of her crumbling barrier. As much as she wanted to pull away, tell him to forget everything, order him to prepare to get moving again, the young woman wearily leaned into his touch, pushing away the nagging voice of future regret. As much as she teased him..he was always there, and never once betrayed her. And he was here too, wasn't he?

Kojirou breathed in heavily, containing his own sorrow. Only solitary tears managed to escape from his eyes, to fall onto Musashi's lap. His loyalty, her sorrow was his, and he could fully understand.

Kojirou cupped her cheek, catching her warm tears. Closing his own welling eyes, Kojirou rested his forehead on her's, embracing her tightly, protectively, lovingly. His sapphire hair brushed against her cheeks.

A nippy wind whistled through their small clearing. The small fire threatened to yield, but it feebly continued to dance, shadows thrown against the tree trunks, and two young adults.

Musashi shuddered with the wind, her breath a sharp intake as sobs threatened to escape from her throat again, goosebumps rippling over her skin.

Kojirou cupped her cheeks in his hands tenderly. As the icy wind blew through the trees, Kojirou brushed his lips against hers, carefully, timid of her reaction.

Musashi's lips parted in another saddened cry, as affection raced through her beaten, weary body. Even after another fruitless failure...this demonstration of caring was all a cold, tired body could take. As if the wall of Musashi's security crashed around her ears, the young woman trailed a finger down Kojirou's cheek, across his lips, down his neck. Kojirou breathed in sharply, closing his swollen eyes in acceptance and pleasure.

Twigs cracked beneath her as she leaned fowardm embracing Kojirou fully, running a hand through his blue locks affectionately. Kojirou nuzzled his head to her touch, relief and happiness clouding the ache of his bruises. Alowinf another hot tear to drip down her swollen cheek, Musashi returned the kiss softly.

Affection, love, protection, swelled, filling his limbs with sparks. Kojirou moaned softly into her mouth, his hands holding her face delicately, as he felt her hands comb his hair, and trail down his back.

Kojirou's tongue flicked out tentatively, catching Musashi's. She kissed him strongly, comfort in his affection, catching his hand with her own. Kojirou tasted the salt of her tears, the shudder of another wave of frustration threatning to take over, the slight tremble of her hand linked with his.

Musashi broke apart from him, panting slightly due to her tears preventing her to breathe from her nose. With a squeeze to his fingers, and a trailing of a finger down his cheek, she released him. Her eyes gained the sad, determined look she often held.

With a wipe to her cut, red face, Musashi turned away, and settled her back to a log. Bringing her knees close to her chest, she returned to the glazed mesmoration of fire sparks, as if willing herself to forget.

Kojirou wiped away another threatning tear. Crawling over to her, he layed beside her, head to the log. He reached for her hand, grasping it tightly. Putting an arm around her shoulders, Kojirou brought Musashi closer to him. With a guarded sigh, Musashi laued her head in the crook of his ar,. giving his hand a tiny squeeze. His warm body lulled her to sleep, regardless of the icy wind, rough ground, and outcome of the mission. To Kojirou, the mission was a success. The young man curled up against her. With a last look at the inky sky and rustling tree tops, Kojirou shut his eyes, lulled to sleep by her steady breathing.

In the clump of bushes off from the clearing, Nyasu scratched his head with a paw. Things did turn out okay. They all needed a break. He wouldn't mention this in the morning. It was a successful attempt. Not to please the Boss, but to please themselves. This was a lucky day.

:.:END:.:


End file.
